NCSE Supporter Francisco Ayala was profiled in the November 2008 issue of Scientific American. "After some 30 years of proselytizing about evolution to Christian believers, the esteemed evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Irvine, has honed his arguments to a fine point," Sally Lehrman writes. "The 74-year-old Ayala is preparing for an exceptionally busy 2009. The year marks the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birthday and the sesquicentennial of the publication of On the Origin of Species, and the battle over the teaching of evolution is sure to heat up. Ayala says the need is especially great for scientists to engage religious people in dialogue."

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Three antievolutionists have been appointed to a six-member committee to review the draft set of Texas state science standards, and defenders of the integrity of science education are livid. "The committee was chosen by 12 of the 15 members of the board of education, with each panel member receiving the support of two board members," as the Dallas Morning News (October 16, 2008) explains. Six members of the board "aligned with social conservative groups" chose Stephen C. Meyer, the director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, Ralph Seelke, a biology professor at the University of Wiconsin, Superior, and Charles Garner, a chemistry professor at Baylor University.

On October 10, 2008, NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott was presented with the Field Museum's Award of Merit at a ceremony at the museum, where she gave a talk, attended a gala dinner, and received a $7500 honorarium for NCSE. The award is presented by the Field Museum's Founders' Council each year to "a leading scientist who has brought issues of cultural and environmental understanding to the forefront of public attention." Previous recipients include NCSE Supporter Stephen Jay Gould, Edward O. Wilson, James Watson, Richard E. Leakey, Jane Goodall, NCSE Supporter Lynn Margulis, Walter Alvarez, and NCSE Supporter Niles Eldredge.

Randy Moore is the winner of the 2008 Evolution Education Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers, according to a press release issued on October 14, 2008, by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The award, sponsored by AIBS and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, recognizes innovative classroom teaching and community education efforts to promote the accurate understanding of biological evolution.